Recommend Me a Wireless-N Router

[FearKiller]

So I have this slight problem.  Possibly I've set my expectations too high, but in my opinion I don't think I'm asking too much.  I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

My current router is a Linksys WRVS4400N v1.1.  I've had it for a while, but have always experienced problems with every firmware I've installed to it.  The first problem was a T-Mobile phone that couldn't connect to it.  A firmware upgrade fixed this issue, but now FTP transfers fail.  Another upgrade to firmware 1.1.08 and all was well.  Another upgrade to version 1.1.13 and now WPA2 doesn't work.  The wireless computers couldn't hold a connection for more than 5 minutes when using WPA2 and since 802.11n standards require WPA2 with AES encryption, back to version 1.1.08 I went.  All of a sudden now my download speed is being robbed.  I'm suppose to be getting 15Mbps.  I'm really getting about 2-5Mbps and sometimes, but not often, 10Mbps.  This makes time sensitive data, such as streaming Netflix, very frustrating.  Ping times average around 150-200ms... I'm tired of this POS router.

So off I go on my search for a new router.  Reading reviews on Newegg and Cnet.  I found the DIR-655 by D-Link, but after reading many bad reviews about the wireless restarting randomly, it was to the poo poo list with that one.  I swear against Netgear due to the many many problems I've seen with them and our clients. (I work as an IT tech.)  So all Netgears I just skipped over.  Linksys I looked at as well, but I'm kinda avoiding them too.

TP-Link routers kinda caught my eye.  Especially since the one I was looking at supported DD-WRT.  Which I've been wanting to experiment with.  The one I'm looking at is the TL-WR1043ND.  The current firmware doesn't support remote access via HTTPS and apparently doesn't support daylight savings time from what I've heard.  Two small issues which I think I may be able to ignore/work around.  Such as setting the remote management port to 443, if that'll work, and configuring the router to obtain time through an NTP server.  I could also install DD-WRT, but after reading their list of supported devices, it says that the 802.11n will run at the speeds of the 802.11g, but everything else works... Which is kind of like saying that your getting this great sports car with no tires if you ask me. 

So I started looking at another TP-Link model WR941ND.  This had no complaints between DD-WRT and 802.11n, but unfortunately it's only supported up to version 2.0 and their current version is 4.0.

So this is the problem. Apparently no one makes a router that just works.  Only routers which either have no advanced features for any price what so ever, or features that they "say" they have, but when you get them, don't work.  I'm hoping you guys can prove me wrong and recommend me a non-junk router that actually does what it's suppose to do.

The key features I'm looking for is.

• 802.11n
• Gigabit ports
• UPnP
• DHCP Reservation

[Geek-9pm]

Possibly I've set my expectations too high

Yes.
Contrary to popular wishing, 802.11 anything is stuck in the mud. The original spec never was for speeds above 10 M bps, but it was pushed to 54 M bps to improve the market. It is NOT scalable. Current regulations hem it in for power and spectrum use.

It will not get better until the FCC, or the equivalent agency,  really opens up the SHF spectrum to super broadband networking. Right now, you have to use private licensed network to get the bandwidth you  want. And with heavy restrictions.

Yeah, they are talking about it. But the fact is the current offerings are overpriced and under perform. And it is not scalable.

With proper regulation, or de-regulation, everybody could have a 2 gigabit broad band into every home, office or school that wants it.

But not yet. Not a t a price you can afford.
The 802.11 n and whatever-is-next is a dead-end.

Why 2.4 GHz is a dead end for Wi-Fi
(The above is a ZDnet article from last year. Not much has changed yet.)

[BC_Programmer]

I found the DIR-655 by D-Link, but after reading many bad reviews about the wireless restarting randomly, it was to the poo poo list with that one.

I have the DIR-655, and I haven't had any problems with anything whatsoever. It isn't supported by DD-WRT,  though. Although I don't see the point (aside from tinkering) myself, since my router does everything I need, services several wireless devices and computers without problems, all with WPA2 TKIP and AES encryption, and the gigabit LAN ports work well, as long as one uses a CAT5e or CAT6 cable (as opposed to a normal CAT5 cable).

Being that I've only used this router and some average Linksys WRT54G router I don't really have a lot to compare with. Some of my friends who administer servers swear by the DIR-615 and DIR-815; mostly because those two are supported by DD-WRT.

So this is the problem. Apparently no one makes a router that just works.  Only routers which either have no advanced features for any price what so ever, or features that they "say" they have, but when you get them, don't work.  I'm hoping you guys can prove me wrong and recommend me a non-junk router that actually does what it's suppose to do.

Well, to be fair, most of the "problems" are more or less problems of DD-WRT; it's not the router supporting DD-WRT, it's whether DD-WRT supports the router.

As I noted, I'm using a DIR-655, which isn't supported by the DD-WRT firmware. However, it is doing, without any problems, everything in your small list except for uPnP, which I don't use and cannot comment on. If DD-WRT is important, I've heard good things about the DIR-615 and DIR-815; aside from that I cannot really provide any anecdotal information about any other brands or specific models.

[FearKiller]

Thank you both for your replies.

Contrary to popular wishing, 802.11 anything is stuck in the mud. The original spec never was for speeds above 10 M bps, but it was pushed to 54 M bps to improve the market. It is NOT scalable. Current regulations hem it in for power and spectrum use

I've never had an issue with the speeds of wireless being that low.  I'm currently running 72Mbps locally off my wireless-n card and Linksys WRVS4400N regardless of my placement within the home.  Which I know isn't great when you hear about other routers pushing 300Mbps, but it's much faster than 10Mbps I can say that.  The speed issues I'm facing currently are experienced on a wired and wireless connection.  Connecting directly to the modem from a PC works perfectly.  When I mentioned my expectations being too high, I was really referring to finding a router that actually works, period.  Not one that says it supports WPA2 and when you use WPA2, you have to reboot your router every 5 minutes. As well as various other problems both related and unrelated to Wi-Fi.

It will not get better until the FCC, or the equivalent agency,  really opens up the SHF spectrum to super broadband networking. Right now, you have to use private licensed network to get the bandwidth you  want. And with heavy restrictions.

So the good old US government bones us in the rear end again. When have they ever done anything to help the people in any way?  But that's a whole other topic for a whole other forum.

Why 2.4 GHz is a dead end for Wi-Fi
(The above is a ZDnet article from last year. Not much has changed yet.)

That was an interesting read. I did know that microwaves produced interference within a wireless network, but from that article, it seems that the most interference from them can be avoided using channel 1.  Which is something I didn't know.  However, I can deal with the three minutes of a bogged down network while me or my neighbor nukes a can of Spaghettios.

I have the DIR-655, and I haven't had any problems with anything whatsoever. It isn't supported by DD-WRT,  though. Although I don't see the point (aside from tinkering) myself, since my router does everything I need, services several wireless devices and computers without problems, all with WPA2 TKIP and AES encryption, and the gigabit LAN ports work well, as long as one uses a CAT5e or CAT6 cable (as opposed to a normal CAT5 cable).

The DIR-655 has a 4/5 rating on Newegg out of 1,663 ratings.  Which is good, but I'm not necessarily what you would call the luckiest person in the world.  I just moved into my first home at the end of last year.  Within the first two months, my stove caught on fire, my pipes froze, the propane company held me responsible for the debt of the previous tenants, my roof was leaking, light fixtures were falling off the ceiling, several problems with the furnace, and the thermostat going up in smoke.  That's all off the top of my head, and as you can see, if anyone is going to get a defective device, it's going to be me. I was having high hopes for the DIR-655, but after reading review after review of the wireless problem, I turned it down.  It would be one thing if it was only one or two people, but I must have read about six or seven reviews claiming the same thing.  Here are some quoted reviews from Newegg.

Wireless signal routinely drops for variable amounts of time several times per day.

This product was great till I upgraded the firmware. Horrible speeds at random times of the day using wireless connection. I thought it was my ISP fault till I plugged in through LAN. Just pinging the router through wireless would get me latency times over 1000ms and frequent packet loss. I've notice it occur when streaming media or playing Online games. This thing is garbage now since I cannot reverse Firmware update. Avoid this product

Pros: It does (occasionally) transmit signals wirelessly.

Cons: I bought it so that my wife could have wireless connection to her lap top.

Because of this purchase, I now live in fear that my wife will kill me in my sleep.

Reliability: There are many topics regarding the Wireless network restarting. My problem isn't the wireless restarting. It's that when the wireless restarts, it disconnections ALL my connections.


DIR-655 System Log: Wireless restart
DIR-655 System Log: All Wireless shut down
DIR-655 System Log: Disconnect all stations
DIR-655 System Log: Wireless restart
DIR-655 System Log: Wireless link is down
DIR-655 System Log: Wireless schedule init
DIR-655 System Log: Wireless link is up
DIR-655 System Log: Device initialized
DIR-655 System Log: LAN Ethernet Carrier Detected
DIR-655 System Log: LAN interface is up
DIR-655 System Log: WAN interface cable has been connected
DIR-655 System Log: Bringing up WAN using Static IP Address

This happens frequently and as I work from home, I need to invest in a more stable product. It's ok for casual use but it does annoy.

Well, to be fair, most of the "problems" are more or less problems of DD-WRT; it's not the router supporting DD-WRT, it's whether DD-WRT supports the router.

I agree, but the main reason I was considering DD-WRT was because of problems I've read with the factory firmware.  Which I say is a problem with the router.  DD-WRT was more of a second chance option for me.  Say if the router doesn't work, instead of buying another one, I'll just try with DD-WRT.

I also failed to mention another router I've dealt with.  The Trendnet TEW-691GR.  This is the router I currently have installed in my parents home and when I was living there, worked great and seeing as they haven't called me, it must still be working great. I just checked it's current uptime, which is 17 days. It probably would've been longer, but a power outage most likely brought it down.

The only thing that bugs me about this router is the fact that with my wireless-n card, my speeds to the Internet were very slow.  Even though the local wireless speed was pushing more than 100Mbps.  After troubleshooting the problem, I narrowed it down to a driver issue for my wireless card.  If I turn off wireless-n mode on my card, the speeds are great.  The Linux driver for my card, however, works great with N mode enabled.  This is really the only thing, besides the no support for HTTPS remote management, that is keeping me from purchasing this router, but with the terrible reviews and problems with every other router, I'm now considering just dealing with it.  I really don't need the Wireless-N speeds currently.  If I do, I can always boot to Linux or call Trendnet support and see how good they are.

Thanks again for your replies.